Thanksgiving Prep: Cornbread Stuffing

I like everything on Thanksgiving to be homemade so the weekend before, I make cornbread for the cornbread stuffing. On the day of, I make a fresh batch of cornbread to accompany the meal.

1 cup flour

3/4 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

2 eggs, room temperature

1/2 stick butter, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Combine dry ingredients and sift, combine wet ingredients and whisk, and then combine both. It's important that all of the liquids are brought to room temperature. If the butter is too hot, the eggs may scramble, or if the eggs and buttermilk are too cold, the butter will seize; either way the batter won't be smooth.

Pour batter into a greased loaf pan or an 8"x8" pan.

Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Turn the cornbread out onto a cooling rack.

Let the bread completely cool before cubing it up.

Toast the cubes in the oven (at 300F) for 10 to 15 minutes until they're dried out and crunchy. Store in an airtight container until you're ready to make the stuffing.

Can't wait!